A few hardy souls braved cold windy and showery weather to visit this very appealing, but public, area.

We decided to make a plant list, with a starting point being a list collated by the Geelong field Naturalists on a field trip in February. Most plants were not in flower so it needed to be done by recognition of leaves.

The grassy verge of the park area was bounded by some bigger shrubs such as Boobialla Myoporum insulare, Kangaroo Apple Solanum laciniatum, a few young Blackwoods Acacia mearnsii, and Common Reed Phragmites australis. The river flats had large areas of Beaded Glasswort Sarcorconia quinqueflora and Trailing Hemichroa H.pentandr, which are favoured by the almost extinct Orange-bellied Parrot, plus Creeping Brookweed Samolus repens. A close look enabled us to identify small areas of Creeping Monkey-flower with the name changed from the satisfying Mimulus to Thyridia repens.

Unfortunately we also identified numerous weeds, so will consider adding this area to Angair’s regular weeding working bees. One prolific weed caused much animated conversation. We had previously thought it was an Indigenous plant and then the weed Fat hen Chenopodium album, but now we realize it is Orache Atriplex prostrata.

We were interested to see many hardy plants growing happily on the very exposed cliffs such as Cushion Bush Leucophyta brownii, and Coast Daisy Olearia axillaris, the latter covered in tiny yellow flowers going to seed.

Plants growing on cliffs next to the beach

Before going up the cliff pathway we were entertained by a Singing Honeyeater posing on a bush.

Singing Honeyeater

Beside the lower part of the pathway there were many thriving Sea box Alyxia buxifolia which are rare in our district. The bushes were currently displaying their unusual twisted white flowers, and some bright berries which have not been taken by birds.

Pathway up from the beach

There were also numerous bushes of Thyme Rice-flower Pimelia serpyllilfolia, with signs of flowers developing. We enjoyed the view of the estuary from the pathway, and were surprised to find one spreading prostrate Slender Bush-pea Pultenaea tenuifolia.

View of the estuary

At the top of the hill there were two Red Ironbarks Eucalyptus tricarpa, with their cream flowers littering the pathway.

Weed of the month

Freesia

Freesia refracta and Freesia alba X F. leichtlinii are declared weeds in the Surf Coast Shire because they spread easily and threaten to invade bushland. Freesias are perennial herbs that die back in summer and produce new foliage in winter. The highly fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers appearing in spring are white to cream and pink with yellow markings, shaded purple on outer surface. Each plant has at least two corms, one below the other, thus requiring deep digging to remove them.